This FAQ collects the money questions that come up around foundation work but aren’t the price itself. The price has no honest answer before someone has seen the house, and we don’t publish prices. What we can do is explain which questions to ask and whom to ask, and quote what California’s public agencies say about insurance, property tax, and liens.
Where a number matters to your project, we’ve written it as a question to put to the right person, not a figure we made up. If you want the cost stack itself, our guide to what drives foundation repair cost covers the factor classes and how to read a quote, and our foundation repair cost page covers how we approach pricing.
This post is general education. It isn’t legal, tax, or insurance advice, and it doesn’t assess any specific property.
Why won’t anyone give me a price over the phone?
Because the things that decide the price sit underground or under the floor. The type of foundation, what’s causing the movement, how much of the house is affected, what the soil is like, whether an engineer or soils report is needed, what the City will require, and how hard the work area is to reach all have to be seen or tested. A phone number would be a guess. Our walkthrough of a foundation evaluation explains what gets checked on a visit.
What should be written into a quote, line by line?
Rather than a total, ask each company to answer these in writing:
- What exactly is included in the scope, by area of the house?
- Is engineering design included, or is it a separate contract?
- Is a geotechnical (soils) report needed, and who orders and pays for it?
- Who pulls the permit, and are City plan review and inspection fees inside the price or billed separately?
- What happens, and how is it priced, if hidden conditions turn up once walls or floors are opened?
- Is drainage work part of this scope, a separate line, or excluded?
- What does cleanup, landscape restoration, and finish repair include, and what is excluded?
Our questions to ask a foundation company post goes further on contract terms, down payments, and change orders.
Are engineering and soils reports separate costs?
They can be, and you should ask. Whether you need them depends on the house and the City’s requirements, not on the contractor’s preference. The City’s Information Bulletin 141 on soil bearing capacity describes when a geotechnical investigation is required, including building on fill or expansive soil. Our post on PE/SE vs contractor roles in California explains who does what. We aren’t engineers. When a repair needs engineered design or soils input, we coordinate with licensed engineers as needed, and we’ll tell you up front whether that engineer works under our contract or yours.
Should drainage be fixed first?
Sometimes drainage is the cheaper first step, and sometimes it’s one line inside a larger repair. The question to ask is whether the evaluator thinks water is part of the cause, and what they’d expect to see if drainage alone were fixed. Our post on delaying drainage fixes covers how waiting can widen a scope, and our foundation drainage page covers the work itself.
Why might the scope change after work starts?
Concealed conditions. Nobody sees the full condition of a footing, sill plate, or post until it’s exposed. Permitted work also has to be inspected at set stages: the City states that “All construction that requires a permit must be inspected before it is covered or concealed” (IB-120), so an inspector may call for something that wasn’t visible at the quote. Ask how the contract handles that before you sign. Our post on how inspections inform repair scope explains the chain from findings to scope.
Will my homeowners insurance pay for foundation repair?
Read your policy, and ask your agent. We can’t tell you what your policy covers. What the California Department of Insurance says in general: “Earthquake, flood, mold, earth movement, and “wear and tear” are some of the perils that are usually excluded.” The same guide adds: “Important: Read exclusions in your insurance contract.”
If the damage followed a specific event, such as a burst pipe, the cause matters to the claim, and that’s a question for your insurer and possibly a licensed adjuster. Keep the dated photos and notes our crack monitoring guide describes. They help whoever reviews it.
What about earthquake damage?
The CDI’s earthquake guide is blunt: “Homeowners, renters, and condominium insurance policies do not cover damage from natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods, and landslides.” And: “In general, your homeowners or renters insurance does not protect your house from the damage an earthquake causes, even if the damage is indirect.” It also notes “The main exception is fire.” Separate earthquake coverage is its own policy.
Does earthquake insurance cover my land or a failing slope?
Not as a general rule, according to the CDI: “Usually, earthquake insurance does not cover damage to your land, such as sinkholes from erosion or other hidden openings under your land. You may be able to buy limited additional coverage to restore or stabilize land.” If you’re on a hillside lot, ask your agent specifically about land and retaining wall coverage. Our hillside foundation repair and retaining wall repair pages cover the structural side.
Can a seismic retrofit lower my earthquake insurance premium?
It can, for some houses. The California Earthquake Authority offers premium discounts “for older houses that have been retrofitted.” Eligibility includes a house “Built before 1980.” with wood-frame construction on a raised or other non-slab foundation, among other conditions. The retrofit has to be verified by an “Inspection Professional (contractor or a structural engineer)” on CEA’s Dwelling Retrofit Verification form. Ask your insurer what the discount would be for your policy; we don’t quote it. Our seismic retrofit page and our post on preparing for a seismic evaluation cover the work.
Will a seismic retrofit raise my property tax?
California has a specific exclusion for this. Under Revenue and Taxation Code §74.5, as explained by the State Board of Equalization, qualifying seismic retrofitting components are excluded from “new construction” for property tax purposes. That includes “Structural strengthening.” It doesn’t include alterations “such as new plumbing, electrical, or other added finishing materials.”
There are steps and deadlines. The owner, contractor, engineer, or architect certifies the qualifying components to the building department. The owner notifies the assessor “prior to, or within 30 days of, completion” and gets documents in “no later than six months after completion.” The exclusion “is not passed along to subsequent owners.”
This exclusion is about seismic retrofitting. Don’t assume ordinary foundation repair qualifies. Ask the San Diego County Assessor’s office before work begins, and keep the paperwork.
Who pays the City permit and inspection fees?
That’s a contract question, so get the answer in writing. The fees themselves come from the City, not the contractor, and depend on the project. Our San Diego permit basics post covers which work needs a permit and how review works.
How do I avoid paying twice? (Mechanics liens)
The Contractors State License Board explains that a preliminary notice is required from subcontractors and suppliers who may need to file a lien, and that they could file a lien claim against your property if they aren’t paid. The notice matters: “If subcontractors and suppliers don’t provide you with the notice, they lose the right to file a lien.” The notice is “not required from laborers or the direct contractor.” Its practical advice: “Before making a payment, get a signed conditional release from the possible lien claimants.” And: “By law, you may withhold the next payment until you get the unconditional releases for the previous payment.” Ask your contractor up front how they’ll handle releases at each payment.
What does it cost to wait and watch?
Monitoring takes time and attention: a dated log, repeat photos, and maybe a follow-up visit. The cost question is what happens if the condition is progressing while you watch. Our guides on seasonal vs progressive cracks and the crack monitoring guide linked above explain how to tell. A good evaluator should be able to say what change would end the watching period.
Why doesn’t this site publish prices?
Because any number we posted would be wrong for your house, and a published range would anchor you to a figure before anyone has looked. We’d rather explain the factors and give you a written scope after a visit. For a guided tour of everything else we’ve written, see today’s companion link map to our foundation guides.
Next step
We’re a foundation and structural repair company serving La Jolla citywide. If you want a written scope you can compare line by line, request a Free Quote or call (650) 739-6537.
Sources (accessed October 23, 2026)
- California Department of Insurance, Earthquake Insurance consumer guide
- California Department of Insurance, Residential Insurance: Homeowners and Renters guide
- California Earthquake Authority, premium discounts for retrofitted houses; Dwelling Retrofit Verification
- California State Board of Equalization, Letter To Assessors No. 2010/036, New Construction Exclusion: Seismic Retrofitting Improvements (Revenue and Taxation Code §74.5); BOE New Construction guidance
- Contractors State License Board, How to Prevent a Mechanics Lien
- City of San Diego Information Bulletin 120, How to Obtain Project Inspections
- City of San Diego Information Bulletin 141, Soil Bearing Capacity